The U16 Viet Nam team have entered the Asian Football Confederation U16 Championship final round, scheduled for next year, after they became the first runner-up in Group J. — Photo thethao247.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — The U16 Viet Nam team have entered the Asian Football Confederation U16 Championship final round, scheduled for next year, after they became the first runner-up in Group J.

In the last match of the Group J qualifiers held in Ha Noi on Sunday, Viet Nam lost 0-1 to Australia to rank second.

Although Viet Nam are not the group winners, they qualified for the final as the top runners-up.

Eleven group winners and four top runners-up teams will play in the final round in India, which qualify automatically as tournament hosts.

The biennial youth football tournament's final round is scheduled to be held from September 15 to October 2, 2016. The four semi-finalists of the tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup that will be hosted by India.

Among the 16 teams competing in the tournament, Viet Nam along with Malaysia (Group G winners) and Thailand (runners-up) are the only teams representing Southeast Asia.

Viet Nam have participated five times in the tournament. Their best performance so far was their semi-final entry in 2000. — VNS